Take the Long View

I learned to drive in Drivers Ed in 10th grade, but my Uncle Cecil trained me in many skills. He had me practicing my parallel parking skills in downtown Vinita in front of the Center Theatre at 9 o’clock on Saturday night when one show got out and the other was starting.

We Vinita kids honed our driving skills running up and down Main Street every Saturday night after the football game. I wish I had kept track of how many miles I actually drove those 3 years.

I went to work for SBC in 1971 as a telephone operator and put many miles on my vehicles over the 13 years I worked that job. Then I transferred into the network department, and since we drove company vehicles, we had to take on-the-job drivers training and yearly driving tests.

One of the most important things I learned from the Southwestern Bell drivers training was to scan the road a mile ahead of you, as far as you could see, to anticipate any hazard that might occur, so you could take evasive action.

Most of us drive one block at a time, instead of looking ahead. In Tulsa traffic, you’ll miss your exit that way. You should be planning ahead and looking for an opening in traffic two miles ahead of your exit. It takes training.

We should train our spirits to take the long view, to look ahead, further and further down the road.

”I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1

Raise your eyes up from your feet, where you are watching each step, the drudgery of everyday life. Don’t look at life one step, one day at a time. That may be how you are having to live your life right now, but lift up your eyes to the Hills of Glory. Your help is on the way. The Lord God of heaven has a plan.

Take the long view.